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The Author

Stephen Schleicher

Stephen Schleicher began his career writing for the Digital Media Online community of sites, including Digital Producer and Creative Mac covering all aspects of the digital content creation industry. He then moved on to consumer technology, and began the Coolness Roundup podcast. A writing fool, Stephen has freelanced for Sci-Fi Channel's Technology Blog, and Gizmodo. Still longing for the good ol' days, Stephen launched Major Spoilers in July 2006, because he is a glutton for punishment.

You can follow him on Twitter @MajorSpoilers and tell him your darkest secrets...

12 Comments

1) Star Trek II works so well because it doesn’t rely on big expensive fights. This allows for a greater amount of character interaction, leading to one of the best science-fiction films of all times.
2) Science fiction was around before, but without Star Trek, there would not as big a precedent for other sci-fi stories.
3) Star Trek can be maliable enough to go from the bright and optimistic days of The Original Series to an almost dystopian Deep Space Nine. While Star Wars in my experience is always in the Lucas mind set, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
4) When your dad raises it on you, even on the late nights when Next Generation is on, it is the kind of thing that sticks with you.

P.S. I wonder how many flame wars have been started over this subject?

This is not a fair question. It’s like asking parents to choose between their children. Obi-wan and Luke vs. Kirk and Picard. Enterprise vs. Star Destroyer. The Force and Lightsabers vs. phasers and transporters.

I love Star Wars to unimaginable heights, but I choose Star Trek for one very important reason. George Lucas didn’t ruin Star Trek.

I agree with Adam. This is tough. They’re both important and iconic for different reasons. I guess if we’re talking epics…you gotta go with Star Wars. However, I think Star Trek has several classic moments. Damn…this is hard! I’m not even going to vote!

I voted based on the original series vs. the first trilogy. If we were considering their entire universes, then I want to change my vote! Deep Space Nine is one of the most under-appreciated SciFi series of all time.

Trek is more hardcore sci-fi, while Wars is more of a mesh of sci-fi and fantasy. Also if you go by movies, Star Wars is 3 good movies out of 6 (and I’m going by popular opinion) while Star Trek is 5 out of 10 (Generations & Insurrection were average so I count both as 1 good movie. Half + Half = 1, right? ). Also I would say that Rick Berman is hated by Trek fans just as much as Wars fans hate George Lucas.

This is basically a choice between Coke and Pepsi. You’ll have either one, but deep down you prefer one over the other. For me, it’s Star Wars. It’s just a bit more fun for me.

I don’t really like either of them. Star Wars bores me, and Star Trek has never really drawn me in. I watched Star Trek Next Generation when I was a kid, but most of the time I got up in the middle of it and went and read a comic book or played a video game.

It’s not that Star Wars isn’t good. In fact, I almost enjoy Star Wars more now knowing the backstory provided in the first three movies (plus Clone Wars cartoon series, plus video games, plus etc.) than I did when I was a kid watching the movies and pretending to be a Jedi.

But, it’s not got the depth of the Star Trek Universe (it has depth, but Star Trek’s is deeper). It doesn’t have the character intricacies (the characters are well-developed, but Star Trek’s are moreso). It doesn’t ever make you feel like “This could actually be real” like Star Trek does.

And, that (to me, at least) is one of the tests of science fiction: If you can envision it actually happening, be it in an alternate reality or in some distant future. At the end of the day, Star Wars is just an updated fairy tale full of knights and princesses and the evil lord that must be defeated to bring peace. And, because of that, Star Trek wins.

Star Trek
(but it is interesting to see Star Wars winning the poll, whilst the majority of comments are in favor of Star Trek, no?)

Anyway, Eps 4-6, are a great trilogy of movies, that are just that, a great set of movies that are just as much action/adventure as they are scifi… meanwhile Star Trek is a continually evolving mythos, analogous to our own sociocultural development. Star Wars is looked back on with the fondness of legend, “A long time ago in a galaxy far away…”, and Star Trek is looked forward to with an almost scientific zeal “Space, the Final Frontier…”

Trek was forever ruined when I bumped into fatty Shatner in Kula Lumper, I asked (politely I may add) for a photo and he turned me down in true Shat style WHY…would….I do THAT?
I should have retorted Because I’m helping with your pension by reading your self-penned Kirk fan fiction instead of slinking off crushed. That was 5 years ago and I haven’t returned to the TOS trek universe since.

I have to therefore side with the way of the force.

I do feel the teet of both these cash cows are looking withered -with the saturation of TV shows (Enterprise anyone?), books, comics, cartoons and games. Although I am curious to see the new Trek movie (if only due to the fact that Shatner isn’t in it)

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